Grab and Grub- Few days left to sate
your soul
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| Haleem |
Bangalore- a city known as the Silicon Valley of
India and is famous for its street food. This city has welcomed majority of
newcomers and tasted varied cultures all over the world. On the other hand, the
silvers try to hold their heritage and linguistic integrity. Bangalore has not
only witnesses a wide range of people and their cultures but also celebrates each
and every festival with great pomp and show.
The holy month of Ramzaan has given the city one
more reason to come alive. Bangalore is in full swing. The streets are lightening
up with stalls decorated with rice bulbs and the ambrosial smell of meat has
blended all over. The lanes of Shivaji Nagar, Mosque Road and Frazer town gears
up with the onset of this festive season. Unlike last year, this time I have
chosen to walk down the streets of Tilak Nagar. Even though the area is not so familiar
but it has almost all the savouries ready to get burst into your mouth.
I have first met a young lad, who is churning the “Seekh
Kababs” over the burning coal in his stall. On being asked, he introduced
himself as Irfan Ali from Raiganj, West Bengal who has been residing in
Bangalore for past 8 years and works for Bismillah Restaurant. The hot Hariyali
Mutton Kababs is served with diced onions and half a piece of lemon to squeeze
on. It is juicy and the tanginess adds more flavour to the spicy kababs.
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| Irfan Ali preparing Kababs |
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| The Hariyiali Seekh Kabab (Tilak Nagar) |
Next in line is the fish stall. The owner is serving
instant fried fish, cut fresh next to his stall which sets apart from the rest.
You say-“Pomfret” or “Bangra”- they have it all and you will be served fresh
and hot. Forget those calories and watch the fish getting fried into a generous
amount of oil. My eyes get rolled into the other section of the stall where the
owner’s nephew is frying “Beef Balls”. Since, the owner is from Kolkata, West
Bengal- he is describing them as “Bora”- means small sized “Pakoras”. The “Beef
Balls” are perfect in their texture and are friendly to my palate.
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| Fish Fry with diced onions (Tilak Nagar) |
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| Fresh fish...ready to get chopped and deep fried (Tilak Nagar) |
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| Fish Fry (Tilak Nagar) |
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| Beef Balls (Tilak Nagar) |
The streets are seen not only rejoicing with an
array of food stalls but also seen with stationary carts as well. The shops are
seen flocked with women, trying out gold –plated jewellery, bangles and stone
fitted sandals. Men are seen trying kurtas and loitering in the streets.
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| Women buying jewellery (Tilak Nagar) |
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| Different types of bags (Tilak Nagar) |
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| Right place to buy Bangles (Tilak Nagar) |
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| Vendor Selling Onion, Beef and Chicken Samosa (Tilak Nagar) |
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| Chicken and Paneer Tikka (Tilak Nagar) |
The Ghousia hotel has opened their outlet and has a
wide range of “Kababs”, “Parathas” and “Desserts”. Chicken Flat - a deep-fried,
crispy flat chicken served with mayonnaise and mint chutney is great to have.
For sweet tooth, one can pick different types of Badusha here.
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| The Chicken Flat (Tilak Nagar) |
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| The Ghousia Outlet (Tilak Nagar) |
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| Badusha (sweets) (Tilak Nagar) |
Our trail leads to Kormangala- the heart of
Bangalore and the most picturesque
boulevard-is a place to savour. The streets
of Kormangala seem to be filled with eclectic crowd of the city. Few are seen
enjoying the famous “Haleem” and some are seen stop by to par take the visual
experience of preparing “Beef Kheema”.
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| Vendors waiting for customers (Kormangala) |
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| Variety of Chicken Items (Kormangala) |
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| Beef Kheema (Kormangala) |
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| Paav with Beef Kheema (Kormangala) |
The Empire Restaurant has their separate stalls lined
up under a white linen tent house. The space is stacked with hearty eaters. My
pick of the lot, however, is “haleem”- a slow cooked dish made of minced meat
or beef, lentils and spices. It is creamy and gets dissolves in the mouth. My
taste buds started teasing by then and I covered almost all, “Tiger Prawns”, “Crabs”,
“Kebabs” and “Camel Meat”.
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Mincing Camel Meat (Kormangala)
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| Whole Crab (Kormangala) |
Options available for desserts are mind boggling-“Jalebi,
“Matka Phirni”, “Shaahi Tukda”, “Falooda”, “Badam Milk”. For the health
Conscious people, lemonades are available in different flavours viz,
strawberry, lime, mint and blue ice.
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| Lemonades (Kormangala) |
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| Shaahi Tukda (Kormangala) |
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| Matka Phirni (Kormangala) |
Indeed whole Bangalore is in festive mood. The
Gastronomic trail has come to an end. It’s another 2 days, so grab and grub to
sate your soul if you haven’t done so far. Bon Appetite!
